(a) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an electronic connector with an enhanced holding function, and more particularly to a socket connector which is used in connecting a soft bus and is provided with a high holding capability and a function of repeated insertion and pull.
(b) Description of the Prior Art
A conventional electronic connector used in connecting a soft bus, especially a thin-type socket connector applied in a liquid crystal display panel, is primarily composed of a plastic seat, a metallic casing, and a plurality of conduction terminals. Due to a requirement of thinning for this kind of connector, one side of the plastic seat is usually removed to constitute a insertion space by the plastic seat and the metallic casing. After a butted connector is inserted, one side of a connecting part of the butted connector is pressed against the conduction terminals for connecting electronically; whereas the other side is pressed against the metallic casing for grounding. In order to enable the thin-type socket connector to have a better holding capability and grounding function, so as to prevent the butted connector from being improperly separated, the Taiwan Utility Patent 91217332 discloses a socket connector wherein a plurality of spring leaves being extended toward an interior of insertion space are integrally formed and located on a wall of one side of the metallic casing corresponding to the conduction terminals. After the butted connector is inserted, two sides of the butted connector are firmly held by the conduction terminals and the spring leaves, and are provided with an effect of enhanced grounding connection. However, this kind of design can relatively form damage to the metallic casing, and reduce the holding strength instead. In addition, the holding effect is not obvious either, even by increasing a thickness of metallic casing.
Additionally, there is a design wherein a grounding piece is added between the conduction terminals and the metallic casing, and then the metallic casing is grounded by using the grounding piece to touch with the metallic casing, so as to replace the original method of directly using the metallic casing for grounding. After the butted connector is inserted, the connecting part of butted connector is held by the conduction terminals and the grounding piece at the same time, to improve a shortcoming of inferior holding capability. However, as the grounding piece is usually fixed between the two side ends and the plastic seat; therefore, when the number of connection terminals of socket connector is increased, the length of grounding piece should be increased. Comparing with the two sides, usually a central part of the grounding piece is gradually separating toward an exterior under a repeated insertion and pull, and forms damage eventually. In the mean time, as the grounding piece is not perfectly pressed against the metallic casing, an open circuit or other damage will easily happen.
Furthermore, as the metallic casing, which is installed on an outside of plastic seat from one direction, is in lack of interference and fixing from the opposite direction, a shifting and escaping will frequently happen, under a repeated usage.